Make It
by T2 Angel
Summary: After seeing one of the others hurt in a fight, Angela is left a little nervous about the future of the Gargoyles and where their battles could lead them. To help her, Hudson decides to impart on her some of the wisdom he's acquired over the years. One-shot. 3rd story in the "Night Souls" saga.
Hudson was flipping the channels on the television when heard a commotion coming from the courtyard. He got up and headed out and saw Angela and Broadway carrying a bleeding Lexington.

"Lexington?!" Hudson exclaimed, seeing Lexington's wound was a deep cut in his left arm. "What happened to ya, lad?"

"We got into a brawl down at the pier with some arms dealers," Broadway explained. "They were a little more well equipped than we thought."

"It looks a worse than it feels," Lexington reassured. "I'll be fine, Hudson."

"All the same, lad, you better rest here until morning," Hudson advised.

"Yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea."

"Where are Goliath and Brooklyn?" Broadway asked.

"Goliath is patrolling near Elisa and Brooklyn… well, I'm not sure. Goliath just assured us that he is fine."

"Huh. Well, alright."

Hudson smiled but looked over at Angela, clutching her arm. "Are ye alright, lass?"

Angela looked at him then looked away. She headed up to the keep of the castle.

"I better go see what's wrong," Broadway said.

"I'll look after Lexington," Hudson said. "Go on."

"You think Angela's alright?" Lexington asked.

"You worry about you, lad," Hudson said. "Broadway will worry about Angela."

"And you'll worry about all of us?"

"Isn't that the way it's been?"

Lexington smiled. "Yep. Thanks for all of it, Hudson."

"It's been my pleasure, lad."

* * *

The following day came and went and, after the night had set in and the gargoyles awoke from their stone sleep, Lexington found that the wound in his shoulder was completely healed. He smiled and landed among his comrades.

Goliath smiled. "Glad to see you're well, Lex."

"Tell me about it," Lexington agreed.

"That was a close one," Broadway said.

"Hardly. We've had much closer calls than that."

"Okay, yeah. That's true."

"But how many close calls are we going to have?" Angela asked. "How many before we run out of them?"

"Is something wrong, Angela?" Goliath asked.

Angela exhaled. "Nothing." She walked off, heading back into the castle.

Broadway sighed, "I better go check on her."

"Hold on a minute, lad," Hudson said. "Let me talk to her."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I'll take care of it." Hudson headed after Angela. He eventually found her, sitting in the library and staring through the window at the night sky.

Hudson sighed and calmly approached her. "Are ye alright, lass?"

"I will be, yes," Angela admitted.

"Would you like to talk?"

"Are you sure it won't sound like complaining?"

"The young humans have a saying: try me."

Angela looked at him then looked at the sky. "I know who we are. We're warriors, soldiers, gargoyles. We know that our lives could come to an end at any minute." She sighed then turned to him. "But this is so much different from when I was on Avalon."

"I can imagine."

"It just seems to be danger every night. Now, we have the Quarrymen hunting us and, even without them, every night is just as much a war as I saw on Avalon the night Demona and Macbeth appeared."

"Aye." Hudson walked to the window and looked at the sky. "I know how different this world can be. It's far different from when Castle Wyvern was in Scotland."

"Did you face war there like you did here?"

"In the same way? No. But that was the one thing about the world that has never changed: danger has always been there."

"And, yet, you do it anyway."

"We have to. It's who we are."

"That's true. A gargoyle must protect their castle." She exhaled. "But I guess… my true question is… how do you keep doing despite knowing all of that?"

He looked down at her.

"How do we make it, Hudson? How do we keep going? How have you done it?"

He smirked. "Aye. That be the question. How does one make it?" He sighed. "It's a heady thing to think about, indeed."

"I hope I'm not offending you by asking. But… you do seem to be the best one to ask."

"Offend me, lass? Never. I understand. I was like you, once. Though that be a long time ago."

She giggled.

"You see an old warrior like me and you wonder how he made it. Because if I did, you can. And I'm tellin' ya, now, you can make it."

"But, I imagine that really is the question: how did you?"

"I fought hard but with purpose. I fought smart and with focus but one thing that kept me going above all else."

"What's that?"

"I had the Clan."

Angela smiled. "And they're worth fighting for? Even after all this time?"

" _Especially_ after all this time. You, the others, Elisa, the friends we have, all of you. All of you make it worth it, even make an old warrior like me seem like I have some value left."

"You have centuries worth of value," she smiled.

"That be true in more way than one."

She held her smile then exhaled. "I'm so sorry. It's just been an emotional time for me since the Hunter's Moon. I guess I had a… a crisis of conscious."

"I understand. I have a one bit of advice that might help you in times like this should they come up again, something I learned through all my years. Xanatos and I actually had a very long conversation about this once."

"You and Xanatos?"

"Aye. He captured me in an attempt to learn more about the Cauldron of Life. I hear it didn't work out for him. But I'll tell you what I told him."

"What's that?"

"There's no guarantee in living forever, lass. That's a fantasy that Xanatos believes, or, rather, used to believe in. Even though some achieve it, does it make them happy? My experience says no. Look at Macbeth. Or Demona."

Angela looked down.

Hudson put a hand on Angela's shoulder, "There is no key trick to surviving or making it. What you do is make the best of every day you have. And true immortality comes only in how you are remembered. And not by everyone but by the people that mattered. If you do something and you mattered to someone along the way, that's how you make it."

She smiled. "If what I think matters at all, Hudson, you'll always be one of the wisest people I've ever known. And always dear to me."

He smiled. "Then I have more riches than King Arthur ever had or ever will have, lass."

She hugged him, "Thank you."

He hugged her back. "Think nothing of it. I'll always be here for ya."

"Promise?"

"You have my word."

* * *

 **A/N: So, this takes place in same timelime as my other Gargoyles fan fics. I'm still working on an over-arching name for all of them as they could lead to a chapter story somewhere down the line and I do have several more one-shots planned. I really hope you guys liked this! REVIEWS! See you soon!**


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